Page 45 (2/2)

To the woo I was supposed to go studymusic, all the way from Mozart to John Lennon I wanted to win the Fletcher coo to Julliard But I didn't Now I' the dark"

She turned sloay from the mirror and walked back into her bedroom She walked to the , turned the three locks that held it firmly in place, and pulled it up It was difficult Thehadn't been opened since she'd moved in

She looked out into the night There was a quarterthe sky The air was cool and fresh She could see Alcatraz, Angel Island beyond it She could see the few lights in Sausalito, just across the bay The Transahtly lit, a beacon in don San Francisco

She turned away and walked to the bedroo time Finally she pulled the chair away

and set it where it belonged, in tne corner beside a reading light She unlocked the door Noat that door, no more

She flung it open She stepped out into the hallway and stopped, every burgeoning whisper of courage in her freezing as she couldn't help but hear the sound of a creaking board not ain No, it wasn't a creak; it was a lighter sound It see fro with her this way? Her own breath whooshed out She was shaking, so frightened she could taste copper in her mouth Copper? She'd bitten her lip, drawn blood

How er could she live like this?

She dashed forward, turning on every light as she went There was the sound again, this tiainst a piece of furniture-so that was afraid of her Then she saw it scurry into the kitchen She burst out laughing, then slowly sank to the floor, her hands over her face as she sobbed

2

Seven Years Later FBI Acadeinia

SHE WOULD GET TO THE TOP of that rope if it killed her And it just ht She could actually feel each individualpain, the rippling cra up on her If that happened, she'd go sprawling to the mat below Her brain already felt nu It had just gotten her into this fix And this was only the second round It see this rope since she was born